There are seven items of technology currently sitting on my desk; all boasting designs that are intended to assist me with communicating with the outside world.
I have to make sure I turn everything off before I go to bed, as, otherwise, their control panels remain brightly illuminated, some fading in and out, some blinking randomly, and others a constant state of orange, white, green, blue or red light, all reminding me of the email I need to send, the notes I need to print, or the movie a friend recommended.
It’s like my personal evening ritual; the laptop is the first to be attended to – it takes the longest to shutdown (I’m still unsure about the sleep vs full shutdown debate); then comes the speakers, the wireless router, the printer, and the iPad.
To bed I take my phone – always anxious I must be reached in case of an emergency (I have owned a succession of mobiles for nine years, and I have yet to be thus summoned); all this habit really ensures is my sleep is delayed by another text, Facebook message, email, or game (2048 is the latest culprit). Sherry Turkle would likely have some interesting insights into my attachment to my mobile.
This is only one of my media spaces, at a certain time of day, and this is only in the offline sense; online is a whole different ball game.
For example, how can using social media sites at certain times and in certain contexts be ‘anti-social’?
I am looking forward to exploring the concepts of both online and offline media spaces in BCM240 – and am looking forward to challenging myself and others about our media culture.
